Intersecting Thoughts
by rumbling.sky
Summary: Series of one-shots revolving around the Allen-Cross encounter in the most recent chapters. One-shots consist of thoughts of 5 characters as the darkness draws near. Bookman, Lavi, Lenalee, Allen, and Cross
1. Doubt

_Note: I started writing these stories as one-shots, independent of each other but revolving around the Allen-Cross encounter. The one-shots consist of the thoughts of several characters: Bookman, Lavi, Lenalee, Allen, and Cross. These are 'what-if' scenarios. They were not written in the order you see now. After completing them, I noticed the stories interconnect at some point; hence, the title "Intersecting Thoughts."_

* * *

**DOUBT**

_From the other record of the Bookman:_

I have witnessed many wars in my lifetime, but none on a scale like this. The war between humans and Akuma—no, the war between the exorcists and the Earl—is intensifying. The darkness is coming on fast.

Yet, I put my faith in that white-haired boy, Allen Walker. Hevlaska had prophesied that the boy would be the "Destroyer of Time." I believed that "time" referred to the Earl, but…

That revelation Cross made shook my theories about this ongoing war. What if Walker would bring about the end of time?

I refuse to believe that. Cross had advised the boy to listen to the 14th inside him. Surely, Cross is not as cruel as to let his own disciple fall into the shadows. He knows more than he lets on—perhaps, even everything. And maybe the 14th is the key to end this war.

Walker's Innocence is remarkable; it has a will of its own. Its unusual form was also noticed by General Tiedoll. To protect humans and save Akuma, that is what Walker's Innocence is for. That is what Walker lives for.

That boy may be one who is loved by God, Komui had said. But isn't God cruel to let a mere child go to war and let him carry the weight of the world upon his shoulders?

The battle between good and evil has been fought for centuries. The human person is the battleground for these powers. The Earl knows that extremely well, and has acted accordingly. From the sorrows left behind by the tragedy of death rise the Akuma.

Countless wars have been recorded in history, and how many of these have been perpetuated under the name of God? This battle is another holy war.

But, there's another side. The Earl is letting the Order live for a reason. If only the aim is achieved, it does not matter under what cover it takes place, and cover is always necessary.

We are observers of history—that is what I always remind Lavi. We are only on the Order's side by chance, all for the sake of recording history.

Now, I am not so sure. Will we be forced to abandon our principles as Bookmen and take a side in this war?


	2. Record

**RECORD**

Lavi returned to his room after talking to the Bookman. He had just witnessed the encounter between General Cross Marian and his apprentice Allen Walker. He was exhausted, not so much for listening at length to a conversation that raised more questions than answers, but more so for trying to organize the new facts he has learned in his head. He removed the scarf around his neck, threw it on the floor, and slumped onto his bed.

He placed both his hands under his head and stared at the ceiling. Sleep would not come. His mind was reeling with thoughts about Allen, the Noah, and the future of this war.

_That General Cross is something—dropping a bomb on all of us. What was he thinking? By confirming the existence of the 14__th__ and Allen's part in his revival he has put Allen in danger. General Tiedoll had said that Cross used people as pawns to further his own scenario. Is this one of those times?_

The 14th, otherwise known as The Musician, was killed by the Earl himself for betrayal. What exactly caused the betrayal was unknown. To further complicate matters, the 14th's older brother, Mana, raised Allen as his own and taught him a musical score that the latter thought was a secret language only between father and son. That musical score granted the player the power to move Noah's Ark. That musical score sealed Allen's fate.

"The implanted memories will eventually erode the host and change you into the 14th." That's what Cross had said.

'_It's as if like the light, you're going to disappear,' I thought as Allen crossed the door to the room where Road and Tyki Mikk lied in wait for us back in the Ark. It seems that I wasn't far off, after all._

Lavi had always known the burden that Allen carried. Allen's equal love for humanity and Akuma had only led to the boy's suffering, but still he pushed on. Allen always hid the pain behind his smile.

_Walk forward, that's what Allen always said. __But is it worth it to keep moving forward if in the end you will disappear, Allen? The more you get stronger, the quicker the Noah awakens. It seems that way to me, at least._

The Noah were the sacrificial lambs of the Earl to God. They were human beings who possessed dark matter that could annihilate Innocence. The black to the exorcists' white. They had proven to be formidable foes.

_This development will not escape the Earl. I am very sure that he has figured this out. What will he do next? We know that the 14__th__ betrayed the Earl, but who's to say that when he revives he will not revert to his self prior to the betrayal? Will Allen—no, the 14__th__—then be a friend or a foe? And what will become of Allen's Innocence?_

Unconsciously, Lavi touched his right eye as if to rub it. This eye, which was covered by an eyepatch, determined his fate as the next Bookman. Only the Bookman knew of this fact. Since being taken under the old man's wings, Lavi had witnessed 48 wars. With each war, he had a different name—a practice that showed how easily he could discard his past and remain disconnected with people and events as they unfolded. But, the 49th was different. He had found himself changing and struggling to balance the irrationality of his emotions with the objectivity of a recorder of history.

_Bookman was right; I have become too involved in this war. I decided to be a Bookman and I still intend to remain as one. I will record the hidden side of history, including—_

He recalled Bookman's strange reaction when he asked about the "other side of the war" that Cross had mentioned. Bookman advised him never to ask about it and cast it off his mind for the time being.

_I had lost faith in humanity, but Allen restored it. His will is so strong that even the impossible becomes possible. This war will end, that is what I believe. _

Lavi sighed deeply. He turned his gaze away from the ceiling and onto the light peeping underneath his door.

_There is still a glimmer of hope—the Heart. Nobody knows exactly what it looks like. It is only assumed that possible candidates will have their Innocence exhibiting extraordinary characteristics—sentient Innocence like those of Allen's and Lenalee's. Lenalee…_

Lenalee's Innocence had protected her after her battle with a Level 4. Soon after, her Innocence had transformed into what Komui called the "crystal type," an evolved form of the equipment-type Innocence.

_Although Allen and Lenalee have grown closer, Allen will not reveal the truth of his connection to the 14__th__. _

His eyes began to droop.

_Lenalee…will not…cry…again._

And Lavi fell into a deep sleep.


	3. Decision

**DECISION**

"Lenalee!" Johnny, the bespectacled member of the Science Department, cried as he rushed over to Lenalee who was seated on a couch at the library. "What's going on? What's the inspector doing here?"

"Apparently he's on special business from Central. I hadn't heard anything about it." Anxiously, Lenalee asked, "Where is Allen?"

"They bound his left arm and took him away. I tried to follow, but they wouldn't let me." Johnny sat beside her. "Will he be OK?"

"It's not fair," he said as he lifted his legs on the couch and curled his arms around them. "Why do they treat Allen like a traitor? He has saved so many…"

"Reever-san told me that it had something to do with Allen knowing how to control the Ark," she explained. "The Ark, after all, belonged to the enemy."

"Only you can control the Ark." Lenalee recalled General Cross Marian ordering Allen to go into the 14th's secret room. The poignant music that he played not only stopped the Earl from downloading the Akuma-making Egg, but also restored the Ark completely, along with the lives of friends thought to be lost forever.

"Has he not proven himself a worthy exorcist? Reever-san said that Allen's power has gone beyond the critical level. Surely, he's no Noah. How can someone be both an exorcist and a Noah—Innocence and dark matter possessing one body?"

Lenalee was silent. Was it impossible for Innocence and dark matter to co-exist? This was Allen they were talking about—a boy who has done impossible feats.

"Lenalee."

"Sorry. I…I don't know that it's not an impossibility."

Johnny watched her lovely face cloud over with his single comment. He meant to apologize, but deemed it wise to say nothing at all.

"Allen is too kind," Lenalee said. "It is his kindness that makes him carry his burden alone. And that eye…"

"That left eye of his lets him see the suffering soul inside the Akuma and it allows him to react quickly, right? I think it's an important gift."

"A gift?"

"To us, that eye seems to be a curse; for Allen, it's a blessing. Allen wants to save lives and not destroy them. That eye helps him do it. He may suffer a little but it's a sacrifice he's willing to make for those he wishes to protect."

"Regardless of how things turn out," Johnny continued, "I'd still support him. Allen is Allen. Nothing's ever going to change that."

"Yes, Allen is Allen." Lenalee smiled at him sweetly, indicating the cloud had passed over. "What is it?"

"You've changed, Lenalee. You're more open with your emotions," he said. "We used to worry about you. We had a hard time trying to determine whether that smile of yours was real or just a mask."

"General Cross said the same thing. I mean, the showing your emotions part."

"So General Cross also noticed."

"Huh?"

Johnny smiled knowingly at the clueless girl sitting beside him.

The slow passing of time lulled Johnny into sleep. With no one to talk to, Lenalee's thoughts drifted to Allen.

_Unlike me_, _you've always embraced the Innocence within you, but…_

"A parasitic-type user's lifespan is used up more quickly than a normal person's. Parasitic-type users do not have long to live as other humans."

Lenalee shuddered at the thought. Komui was mistaken in assuming that her reaction to Hevlaska's revelation meant she feared her own death or her separation from her brother. Rather, it was fear for someone else.

Johnny's head fell on her shoulders; he was sound asleep. "It is difficult for the ones left behind," she murmured.

_The right for humans. The left for Akuma. You've become stronger ever since you gained the true form of your Innocence. At the same time, the burden you bear also increased._

_"I cannot save everyone," you said. No one ever asked you to._

That night, Lenalee made her decision. Allen will not fight his battle alone.


	4. Will

_Note: Allen's thoughts (in itals) are interspersed with the narrative and can be read independently of the narrative. _

* * *

**WILL**

Allen changed into his exorcist uniform. Much better, he thought. During his audience with his Master, he was made to wear a white cheongsam-like garment. His hands were magically handcuffed and his left arm bound to protect against unnecessary invocation of his arm.

_To be called a monster was one thing, but to be treated a traitor…_

Allen Walker, the traitor—a label that he seemed to have inherited from someone else. To the Central Administration, he was believed to have likely connived with the enemy for knowing and understanding a musical score that granted him full control of the Ark. To the Earl, he was the instrument of the Musician that would realize the Musician's intent to kill the mighty opponent of God. In this holy war, Allen Walker seemed to have lost.

Carrying a blanket, he made his way back to the library where Lenalee and Johnny had stayed and awaited his return. He arrived to find the two asleep on the couch.

"Allen!" Lenalee woke up with a start as the white-haired exorcist was about to cover both her and Johnny with a blanket. "I fell asleep! Where's Nii-san?"

"He's still inside," Allen replied. "Don't move or you'll wake up Johnny." Johnny's head rested on Lenalee's shoulder.

He took his place beside Lenalee.

Noticing his reddened cheek, Lenalee asked, "Is your cheek swollen?"

"My Master hit me."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Although he smiled, his eyes revealed a sadness that he could not conceal. "It's nothing."

Sensing Lenalee's intent gaze upon his face, Allen quickly said, "It's all right. I'm fine."

"So, what did General Cross say?" asked Lenalee, still unconvinced.

"Nothing. I left that room with more questions than answers," he replied. "And the answers he did give, well—they were so vague that I couldn't understand them at all."

_With the exception of Lavi, Komui and the Bookman, no one else must find out that I will cease to exist and become the 14__th__._

Lenalee turned her gaze away from Allen's face. "I heard from Nii-san. You have sacrificed so much already and this is how they show their gratitude."

"I never thought of it that way, Lenalee." Allen explained, "Becoming an exorcist was a personal mission. I needed a reason to keep on going after I turned Mana into an Akuma—"

"Keep moving forward…"

Allen turned sharply. Lenalee's eyes began to water.

_I don't want to make her cry. Lenalee must never know._

"…until you die."

Both became silent. Allen continued to look at her, unsure of what to say or do next. Lenalee had tried to hide her tears.

"Why do you still go about things alone?" she asked as she touched Allen's left eye. "I hated this eye; I still do." As she traced the lines, she added, "But somehow it reassures me…"

Allen and Lenalee found themselves staring into each other's eyes, their faces so close that they see each other reflected in the other's eyes. What might have happened next was anybody's guess. Just then Johnny's head slid off from Lenalee's shoulder and fell onto her lap.

"Oi, Johnny!" Allen was already trying to shake Johnny awake.

"That's all right. He's been worried about you." Lenalee arranged Johnny's head to a more comfortable position and covered him with the blanket.

_I want to protect her world from falling apart for as long as I can._

They sat silently side by side once more until Lenalee broke off the silence. Laying her head upon Allen's shoulder, she said, "Don't fall into the shadows, Allen." She closed her eyes.

Allen was lost in his own thoughts. Cross had said that he would have to kill someone he loves. He had lost that person a long time ago.

A thought came unbidden to his mind. "Will you forgive me when one day I can no longer say 'I am back, Lenalee'?" he murmured.

And a soft voice answered, "I won't forgive you if you do not return."

Allen's cheeks turned crimson. He didn't realize that he had spoken the words loudly, or at least loud enough for Lenalee to hear. But when he looked at her, Lenalee was definitely asleep. He let out a sigh of relief and rested his head against hers.

_And for this reason, I will fight fate itself. This is my will._

When Allen woke up, it was already morning.


	5. Memories

**MEMORIES**

Sitting by the window, Cross Marian watched the rain pound against the glass. His audience with his apprentice Allen had just ended, and for lack of better things to do, he decided to stay in the room. This rain brings back memories, he thought.

A younger Cross had met two brothers, roughly his age or thereabouts, on a night like this. Seeking solace from the bad weather, the brothers entered a tavern that the redheaded youth frequented. Cross observed the newcomers—the elder one had long hair neatly tied back into a ponytail and a gentlemanly countenance; the other, unruly hair that seemed to point to all directions at once. Brat, that's what he decided to call the latter.

"Excuse me," Cross said to his beautiful companion as he removed his arm around her. "I have just found easy prey."

He approached the "brat" and challenged him to a drinking contest. "This tavern boasts of good liquor," he said. "Would you care to join me in a contest? The winner gets to taste the best wine."

The older brother was about to intervene when his brother exclaimed, "The best wine, eh? Fine." Cross smelled victory. He saw the brat sizing up his opponent who appeared to be a novice drinker. Several bottles later…

"That's unfair!" The brat slammed his hands on the table. "You said the winner gets to taste the best wine. How did I end up paying your debts to this tavern?"

"I won and you lost," explained Cross, grinning. "It's your fault for agreeing to this contest without knowing the penalty for the loser."

The brat sprang from the table and hurled himself against Cross. That brawl cemented a friendship that transcended even their own destinies.

Cross and that brat met several times years later not in the tavern but on the battlefield. Cross, whose mask covered the right side of his face and half a spectacle his left eye, wore the black uniform with the rose cross upon his left breast. The brat, who came to be known as the 14th—the Musician—wore a cowl that hid most of his gray skin but not the cross-shaped marks that lined his forehead. An exorcist and a Noah. Two friends on opposite sides of a war. Neither claimed victory nor defeat in the battles they fought against each other.

"You are playing a dangerous game with the Earl," warned Cross. "Is this worth—"

"To protect something, sacrifices have to be made," replied the 14th. Looking at the golden winged golem hovering near him, he continued, "This war is not what we thought it to be."

The rain continued to come down in sheets, but Cross remained unfazed. Amid the thunder and lightning, he thought he saw the rotund figure of the Earl removing his sword from the 14th's prostrated figure.

"It's too late, Cross Marian." With that, the Earl left the imprint of his wide grin in his wake.

"Promise me," said the 14th. "You'll watch over Mana." Cross held his friend's hand and nodded his assent. The 14th's face broke into a smile. "If you do that, I'll return someday." Blood spluttered out of his mouth. Seeing his golem atop Cross's head, he said, "Tim, go with him." And with that the Musician played his last note.

The next round of thunder and lightning brought Cross back to the present.

"I swore to Mana that I'd never stop no matter what, that I'd keep walking until I die. I'm the one who swore!" Allen's words echoed through his mind.

_He's gotten so cheeky. I guess it hasn't been all bad for him here._ Cross smiled to himself.

_This is the fate you brought upon that child, brat. Soon, you'll awaken as you promised me. Allen will cease—No, I believe there is some hope yet. Allen is unlike you. He is stronger than you. He has found what is truly important to him. And one more. My foolish disciple has yet to realize it. There is light amidst this darkness._

Cross became aware of the sound of faint footsteps that grew louder as they approached his room.

_I have left Allen in Tim's care. When the time comes, Tim will show him the truth of his existence._

Just as the footsteps stopped by the door, Cross took his revolver Judgment out of its holster.

_The stage is set._

And there were knocks on the door.


End file.
